The globalization of business, travel and communication brings increased attention to worldwide exchanges between communities and countries, including the potential globalization of the bacterial and pathogenic ecosystem. Bactericides and fungicides have been developed to control diseases in man, animal and plants, and must evolve to remain effective as more and more antibiotic, pesticide and insecticide resistant bacteria and fungi appear around the globe.
Bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents has also emerged, throughout the world, as one of the major threats to both man and the agrarian lifestyle. Resistance to antibacterial and antifungal agents has emerged as an agricultural issue that requires attention and improvements in the treatment materials in use today.
For example, focusing on plants, there are over 300,000 diseases that afflict plants worldwide, resulting in billions of dollars of annual crop losses. The antibacterial/antifungal formulations in existence today could be improved and made more effective.